Regarding the attacks in South Cyprus directed at Turkish Cypriots

Attacks directed at Turkish Cypriots in the Greek Cypriot administration of Southern Cyprus are, lately, on the rise and are increasingly becoming normalized.

In South Cyprus, where similar incidents have occurred many times in the past, a Turkish Cypriot’s vehicle was attacked and damaged once again.

We condemn this dreadful attack and invite the Greek Cypriot authorities to immediately identify and punish those who are responsible.

This unfortunate experience of our citizen and her little daughter is upsetting and our sole consolation is that no one was hurt.

These heinous attacks that target the Turkish Cypriots have also been reflected in the human rights reports of several countries as well as non-governmental organizations.

It is unacceptable that, despite all the calls made by the Turkish Cypriot side, the Greek Cypriot administration has failed to take any measures to discourage or prevent similar attacks from reoccurring. Racism and xenophobia in South Cyprus is exacerbated even further as the perpetrators of previous attacks on Turkish Cypriots were not identified and no dissuasive sanctions were imposed. These incidents and the insensitivity of the Greek Cypriot authorities verifies the security concerns of the Turkish Cypriot side.

Such incidents which are of a nature that is damaging the necessary dialogue between the two sides are unacceptable. It is our expectation that the investigation on the part of the Greek Cypriot police does not remain inconclusive, as was the case in the past, and that the perpetrators are identified, taken to court and punished as soon as possible. We will be monitoring closely the developments in this regard.